Professor Reed Returns

Professor Reed Returns
Alex's POV

The coffee mug slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor as I saw him walking across campus. Professor Reed. He was supposed to be in jail, but there he was, carrying a briefcase and walking straight toward the science building.
"Ethan!" I shouted, grabbing his arm. "Look!"
Ethan followed my look and his face went pale. "That's impossible. The cops arrested him three days ago."
Students around us started noticing too. Whispers spread through the courtyard like flames. Some kids ran in the opposite way. Others pulled out their phones to record.
"We need to warn everyone," I said, but my voice came out shaky. After everything Reed had done to us, seeing him free made my stomach twist with fear.
"Wait," Ethan grabbed my wrist. "Look at his neck."
I squinted and saw it. A thick black collar around Reed's throat, blinking with tiny red lights.
"Electronic monitoring," Ethan said. "He's not free. He's being watched."
That's when I noticed the two guys in suits following Reed at a distance. They looked like the same government officers who had tried to capture Sophia at the hospital.
"Why would they let him back here?" I asked.
"I don't know, but I don't like it."
Reed disappeared into the science building, and the school went crazy. Students were calling their parents, texting friends, and sharing on social media. Some teachers came outside to see what all the noise was about.
That's when Dr. Peterson, the college president, walked up to a group of students with a speaker.
"Attention everyone," his voice boomed across the courtyard. "I know you're worried about Professor Reed's presence on campus. I want to tell you that he is here under strict supervision and poses no threat to students or staff."
"That's a lie!" someone yelled from the crowd.
Dr. Peterson cleared his throat. "Professor Reed is cooperating with a federal probe. He will be working under restricted conditions in his laboratory to help reverse the effects of his past experiments."
My blood ran cold. "They're letting him work with nanobots again?"
"As part of his cooperation agreement," Dr. Peterson added, "Professor Reed will help treat the students who were affected by his technology. This is the fastest way to ensure everyone makes a good recovery."
The crowd broke in angry shouts. Parents who had driven to school were demanding answers. Students were crying. It was chaos.
"This is insane," Ethan said. "They can't trust him."
"We have to do something," I said. "What if this is all part of his plan?"
That's when my phone buzzed with a text from Liam: "Emergency. Meet me in the library basement. Now."
I showed the message to Ethan. "Come on."
We pushed through the crowd and ran toward the library. The lower level was usually empty except for old books nobody read anymore. We found Liam waiting for us in the back corner, looking more serious than I'd ever seen him.
"Thank god you're here," he said. "I've been monitoring government communications all morning."
"How are you doing that?" Ethan asked.
"Professor Chen taught me how to hack encrypted signals before Reed got to her. Listen, this whole thing is a setup."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Reed isn't here to help anyone. The government made a deal with him. If he can figure out how to make nanobots that can't be stopped or removed, they'll let him go free."
I felt sick. "So they're using us as test subjects."
"It gets worse," Liam said. "They have Sophia. The spies took her last night after her nanobots activated. They're using her as Reed's first test pig for the new technology."
"We have to save her," I said instantly.
"How? Reed has government security now. We can't just walk into his lab and demand they free her."
That's when Ethan spoke up. "Actually, we might be able to."
We both stared at him.
"Think about it," Ethan said. "Reed's biggest weakness is his ego. He likes showing off his work. What if we could trick him into showing his new nanobots on us instead of Sophia?"
"That's suicide," Liam said.
"Not if we're prepared for it." Ethan looked at me. "Alex, you broke free from his power once before. Maybe you can do it again."
"Maybe isn't good enough," I said. "If I can't break free this time, Reed will have three test subjects instead of one."
"Then we need backup," Liam said. "I've been in touch with some college students from other states. Reed tried on kids at their schools too. They're driving here tonight to help us."
"How many?" Ethan asked.
"Twelve. All of them either broke free from nanobot control or were never touched in the first place. Reed won't be expecting an organized opposition."
My phone buzzed again. This time it was a text from an unknown number: "Alex, this is Jasmine. I'm using a borrowed phone. They have Sophia and Marcus at the science building. Reed is planning something big tonight. You have to stop him before it's too late."
I showed the message to the others.
"Tonight?" Liam said. "That doesn't give us much time."
"It has to be enough," I said. "We can't let Reed hurt more people."
That's when we heard footsteps on the stairs. Someone was coming down to the basement.
"Hide," Liam whispered.
We ducked behind a tall bookcase just as Professor Martinez walked into view. But something was wrong with her. Her actions were too perfect, too coordinated. And her eyes were sparkling blue.
"I know you're down here," she said in a voice that sounded like Reed. "You can't hide from us forever."
She walked slowly between the racks, checking each row. "We've been monitoring your conversations, Liam. Very clever, but not clever enough."
My heart was pounding so loud I was sure she could hear it.
"The truth is, we wanted you to find out about tonight. We wanted you to try to stop us. Because you three are the final test subjects we need."
She stopped right next to our hiding spot.
"You see, we've learned that some people can fight nanobot control because of specific brain chemistry. But if we can break even the greatest resistors, then our technology will be perfect."
Professor Martinez smiled, and it was the most frightening thing I'd ever seen.
"So please, come out now. Save us the trouble of hunting you down. Your friend Sophia is waiting for you upstairs. She's very eager to see you again."
I looked at Ethan and Liam. We were stuck. There was no other way out of the basement.
But then Liam held up his signal jammer device and hit a button.
Professor Martinez froze in place, just like the robot students had done before.
"That won't work for long," Liam whispered. "The new nanobots adapt to jamming signals in about thirty seconds."
"Then we run," Ethan said.
We bolted toward the stairs, but Professor Martinez started moving again just as we reached them.
"Running won't help you," she called after us. "We have people everywhere now. The janitor, the cafeteria workers, even some of your peers. Reed's new nanobots spread through the air. Anyone who breathed near the science building today is now under our control."
We burst out of the library and into the courtyard. But something was badly wrong. All the students who had been panicked earlier were now standing perfectly still. Their eyes were glowing blue.
Hundreds of them. All staring straight at us.
"Welcome back, Alex," they all said at the same time in Reed's voice. "We've been waiting for you."